Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Poolside Essentials

Hey loves,

If you didn't already know, you should if you follow me on Instagram, I've been in Orlando for the past few weeks, meeting Mickey and Minnie and whatnot. Now I know it isn't particularly swimming-appropriate weather in England, but I thought I'd share my Poolside Essentials with you all, as I've been reaching for these products constantly during my holiday! So if any of you were planning a little escape from the ever delightful British weather, then I hope this comes of some use!

I'm also working on a post on how to eat Vegan in Orlando, as part of my 'Easy Vegan' series, so keep an eye out for that too!

I have to start by giving this super adorable bikini a mention. I picked it up in Target, which if you don't know is like Asda but waaaaay more fun. Essentially while your parents do the food shopping you get to shop to your heart's content in their on-trend but reasonably priced clothing and cute homeware departments, plus they carry some great drugstore cosmetics brands such as Pixi, Sonia Kashuk, Elf and Pacifica. (Oh but I highly invest in you bringing/buying walky-talkies cause shops here are HUGE! You'll thank me later.) Anyway, I saw this bikini and instantly fell in love, cause the pineapple print was just too darn cute to pass up.

The water bottle is a subtle reminder to stay hydrated, ooh subliminal messages!

This Daily Primer and Clearing Serum from Witch has definitely been my most reached-for product this past month. I was lucky enough to receive it in my East Midlands Meed Up Goodie bag, (blog post here), and I'm so in love with it so I'm definitely going to be trying more of their products. Witch is a great cruelty free brand that targets acne-prone skin with natural ingredients - and it's cheap, WAHOO! and I've been using this constantly; after the pool for hydration, at bedtime for extra cleanliness, before applying make-up for smoothing etc.
Get my point? Go buy dis now.

Look at that perfectly placed water droplet... #pro

I'm due to start Roaccutane the day I get back home *cries* which whilst being an extremely effective acne treatment, comes with some serious side effects. One of these is that your skin gets crazy sensitive to the sun, hence - yes I did just say "hence" and no I'm not 80something - why I'm not starting on the medication until I'm back from the ol' Sunshine State. I've always had a facial-specific sunscreen as the normal stuff clogs the crap out of my pores, but this one by Algenist is my favourite yet! It's slightly mattifying (so great for my oily skin girls), has SPF 50 and protection from UVA and UVB rays. The packaging is really diddy and fuss-free which is great cause it fits into whatever little bag I take with me plus it's handy when you're trying to cram all your liquids into those stupidly tiny bags at the airport! -__-

I like the majority of the world obsessed over the Dior So Real sunnies when they came out last summer, and even considered buying a pair in the US - that was back when the exchange rate was practically £1 to $1.7 THANKS BREXIT - but then I remembered how ridiculously clumsy I am and so gave up on that dream fairly quickly... Anyhoo I got this pretty similar looking pair from Noughts and Crosses last summer and I love them! Plus I won't cry myself to sleep when I inevitably sit on them.

This book is AMAZING! At the time of taking the photos for this blog post I'd only read three pages of 'The Shining Girls' but included it in them cause I could already tell it was going to be riveting as hell. And boy was I right. I borrowed this from bestie Megan on one of our infamous "payday-shopping-Starbucks-nails-book swap" days and we have a really similar interest in books so I expected good things, but OH MY GOD. It's a sci-fi thriller set mainly in 80-90's Chicago, and it flips between multiple viewpoints and time zones. The story follows a serial killer named Harper as he hunts down young women filled with potential, (which he refers to as his 'Shining Girls') and then kills them. Unbeknown to him, one of his victims, Kirby, survives his attack and begins searching for her killer through some kick-ass investigative journalism.

If you like thrillers it is a must read. I finished it in just under three days in between, you know, Disney World and all that!

Sorry you can't read the Benefit tube, the sun was NOT being my friend!

This Milani Lip Oil has been my saviour whilst I've been away, cause if you know me and my perpetually dry lips, I'm never further than one metre away from some kind of lip balm. I've previously used the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil (review here) which is fab, but the £18 price tag is not! I heard Kathleen Lights talking about the Milani one a month or so back and made it my mission to find it once I got to Florida. I went for the Moisturising Almond Coconut 'flavour' which is a clear, non-sticky gloss that brings hella moisture to my sun-parched lips and I'm hoping it'll act as a long-lasting barrier to harsh winds, like the Clarins one does. The applicator is also a similar doefoot shape, and the only thing I'm not keen on is the artificial coconutty taste, but that disappears after a few minutes. But TBH its a fraction of the price of the Clarins one so I'm a happy bunny. AND it's Cruelty free, so the bunnies are happy too.

Lastly, the Benefit Ready Set Brow has been the perfection addition to my brow routine. I spotted it on the shelves a couple of months ago as the free gift with Elle Magazine, so naturally for £2 I bought it. (Now if only I'd been more logical at the time and bought a back-up..) It's the best clear brow gel I've used, better than the ABH one, and it even holds my brow hairs in place after I've been in the pool and in this sweltering Florida heat which in my book makes it pretty darn awesome. I'll definitely be purchasing the full size when this runs out. It's also got a really precise wand which really coats product onto every hair and oh, isn't the bottle hella cute too? (Yes I know I'm a packaging whore)

Are you going on holiday soon? What are your poolside staples? And let me know if there's a product you think I'll love that I've missed out!

These sunny photos have given me such wanderlust, I need to go in holiday somewhere hot right now! 😍😍 Really love your bikini top, it's so cute! The book you were reading sounds fab as well, very tempted to pick up a copy! Thanks for sharing, lovely!

Aw haha good! We should do a bloggers retreat or something 😂👌🏼 thanks I love it too; and I struggle with bikinis quite often! Yes yes yes I highly recommend, I hope I did it justice describing it haha. Lots of love xxxx

I love crime/thriller books, my bookshelves are filled with mostly that! It's a worrying contrast from the pretty and purple theme of the rest of my bedroom. Book swaps sound like so much fun, wish I had someone to do that with!

Sooo jealous that you've been sunning it up in Orlando! Love the pineapple bikini and I think the book sounds right up my street. I'm a massive thriller fan so I'm sure I'd really enjoy it. Have you ever read the book 'what she knew?' That's a great thriller too. Another fantastic post and I really enjoyed reading it xxx

Thanks so much for the lovely comment honey! It's like my fave place ever I know it so well! Oooh I haven't read that, I'll definitely look for it on my next Waterstones trip/Amazon haul Hahaha. Let me know what you think if you do read it! Xxxx

You take all the same essentials away as I do! I'm with you on your Target shop though. When I'm in a supermarket, I let my parents do the food shop while I visit the clothes/homeware/stationery/beauty sections and then make way to the sweets aisle :) A good book is always an essential for my bag anywhere, regardless of if I'm going to work or on holiday! Amaaaazing photos lovely!